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Agua Caliente Helps Feed the Needy in Coachella Valley’s Food Desert

ICTMN Staff

8/2/13

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians appreciates the work of nonprofit Well in the Desert to fill the stomachs of those struggling to make ends meet.

“There is a great deal of need in our community, and the volunteers at the Well in the Desert are making sure people who are in need have access to healthy food,” Tribal Chairman Jeff L. Grubbe said. “We knew we wanted to provide assistance as soon as we saw the organization’s call out to the community to help fill their nearly empty shelves.”

The Agua Caliente Band has donated 2,500 pounds of food to Well in the Desert, including 200 pounds of chicken, 345 pounds of beef round, 240 pounds of sausage, 150 pounds of brown rice, 250 pounds of jasmine rice and 560 pounds of various types of pasta, among other items.

The Well in the Desert provides emergency food assistance, weekly supplemental food distribution, and access to community services to those affected by poverty, including the working poor, the homeless, seniors, the handicapped and others in need throughout the west end of California’s Coachella Valley for more than 17 years.

“Our shelves were nearly empty,” Well in the Desert President Arlene Rosenthal said. “We are thrilled with the Tribe’s generosity and support of our work to provide daily nutritious hot meals to those in need. This time of year is especially hard for our less fortunate. Having good food on our shelves means people will have good food in their bellies.”

Rosenthal and her Board of Directors volunteer to keep The Coachella Valley's people in need cared for. The Well staff is made up of people who overcame their addictions through many beneficial programs and the help from the Well. They give hours of their time as volunteers working to help others. The Well's mission fuels programs for poverty prevention, direct services for poverty intervention, and organized efforts to advocate for the poor.

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